Upskilling in the process of learning additional skills in your job or business. There are a variety of different ways to upskill, from independent learning to short courses and 1:1s. A lot of the time, upskilling can be a quick and easy process that can benefit you and your business in a number of different ways.
What are the benefits of upskilling?
Money-Saving
One of the benefits of upskilling as a small business or freelancer is that it’s cost-effective and could potentially save you a lot of money. Upskilling in the areas of running your business, such as admin and finance, would mean that you wouldn’t need to hire someone to help you with those dreaded tasks. This will also lead you to run your business more efficiently as you are more experienced and skilled in this area. You may also want to consider other areas in your business where you could upskill, such as social media, digital marketing etc. However, in this case, it’s important to weigh up cost vs quality, as in some cases outsourcing certain tasks may be more effective than upskilling yourself.
Time-Saving
Upskilling may save you a lot of time as while developing your skill; you will also improve your efficiency and be able to complete tasks on a much shorter time scale. For example, on the tasks that may be more time-consuming for you, upskilling in this area will help you to feel more confident in completing these tasks, while also giving you the opportunity to learn a more effective way to complete them. With technology everchanging and evolving, there are always new software and applications developing to aid you, and upskilling will enlighten you on this and teach you how to take advantage of this.
Opportunity to Grow
One of the biggest benefits and most important is that upskilling gives you the opportunity for you to grow as a freelancer or a business. Developing extra skills is an effective way to grow and gain even more experience. Upskilling will improve the quality of your product/service and could even lead you to being able to add extra services or products to your business. This will inevitably bring in more customers and clients.
Growing and Developing with your Industry
With most industries, technology has brought a whole new level of development that is always growing. Upskilling will allow you to learn new ways of running your business and even help in developing your services and products. This is essential for you to stay current, on top of your game and up to date with your competitors and may also give you new ways to work, which could lead to easing your workload. A Refresh
Working for yourself is tough, and it’s completely normal to lose motivation and go through down periods with your business. When this happens, it’s important to keep going and work on getting yourself back to being in love with your business again; you don’t want all of your hard work of building your business to go to waste. A great way to tackle this is by upskilling. Upskilling is not only about improving a skill, but it can also help you to create a new approach to your business and find out a way or process that works much better for you. For example, if you’re struggling, a 1:1 session may be just what you need to reset and realign your priorities.
Ways to Upskill
There are many ways to upskill in your business or as a freelancer without it being too time-consuming or overwhelming:
1:1 Sessions: This is a great option for upskilling and the most effective. Unlike courses and other upskilling techniques, 1:1 sessions give you information and advice that are 100% directed to you and your business.
Taking on a course: There are a variety of different types of courses out there ranging in size depending on what time you can give. A lot of online courses give you flexibility, allowing you to organise your time yourself and complete it when you can. This could be something you dedicate to a weekend, or a few evenings during the week.
Reading: This may seem small, but anything that is improving your skills in your business is upskilling. Reading can be very effective, especially if you need to stay current in your industry. It’s a small task that can be completed in your own time, but it can make a huge difference.
Podcasts and Videos: This is another way that’s less time-consuming and has less commitment to it. Again, this is a great way to stay up to date with your industry and is something that can easily be done in your free time.
If you’re interested in learning more, why not get in touch? With excellent organisational and communication skills, BizzyBee is here to help relieve your stress and bring more balance and productivity to your business.